Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews

Artemis Fowl: The Last Guardian Audio

After her last effort to create havoc and misery for humans and fairies alike failed, Opal Koboi was incarcerated in the most secure prison the People have ever created. Artemis Fowl and his friends and allies are feeling secure and relaxed for a change, which turns out to be a very bad idea, because Opal Koboi is hatching a diabolical plot, the worst one she has come up with to date.

Some time ago, Opal played around with time and ended up creating a younger version of herself. A short while ago imprisoned Opal arranged to have this younger Opal captured, and now she is threatening to have her killed if she, the present version, is not freed. This might not sound like such a bad thing, but it most certainly is. If the younger version of Opal is destroyed the “pretense tense version” of Opal will “release all its energy spontaneously and violently,” as in nuclear fission violent. If this is not bad enough, everything that the younger version caused to be made will also combust. Since Opal’s tech company has created components for millions of devices (both human and fairy,) having them explode would cause chaos all over the planet.

It is decided to put the present day Opal Koboi in the reactor core of Atlantis. Perhaps then they will be able to contain her explosion. This does work, up to a point, but it turns out that this is just what Opal wanted all along. When her younger version is killed, the present day Opal explodes in the reactor core and she becomes an entity made up of black magic. She travels to the Earth’s surface where she opens the Bezerker’s Gate, freeing the souls of long dead fairy warriors. Her plan is to have these soldiers back her up long enough so that she can open the second gate and unleash black magic that will kill every human being on the planet. Then she will finally be in a position to proclaim herself Empress and no one will be able to remove her from power.

Opal certainly does an amazing job anticipating how Foaly, Artemis, Holly Short and their friends will act. Every time they come up with a plan, they find out that Opal has a counter plan. One thing Opal never counts on is the possibility that Artemis might decide to do something that is completely out of character.

Listeners all over the world have enjoyed following Artemis Fowl’s adventures and misadventures in this remarkable series. In this audio title, the author brings the adventures to a close in a novel and thoroughly surprising way, in a fashion coming full circle, and leaving his listeners with the knowledge that everyone has the potential for greatness, even the most unlikely individuals.